Google’s Android is undoubtedly a popular mobile platform. It runs on nearly 85 percent of smartphones sold globally. On the other hand, Apple was spotted with 13.9 percent market share in the second quarter of 2015. With this data, many experts believe that the time has come when developers may begin to concentrate more on Android, but that is not true at all.

iPhone has always been doing well in the US. The report from Kantar’s shows Apple still has 44.2% market share in the US (July 2015). So it simply means iPhone is still the most important brand for mobile app developers. The US based user-groups have always been the target of developers as they know that US app users spend money. However, the other truth is that majority of US users still use Android. But does it mean developers will be influenced with the share of Android users in the US market? Not at all.

ROI Matters

Yes. ROI matters but there are several reports proving that Android developers do not make as much money as iPad or iPhone application developers. Also, the cost of iOS app development is comparatively lower than developing applications for Android platforms. When it comes to Android app development, it costs a lot because there are multiple devices for which an app is customized. Stretching, scaling, and testing an Android app takes too much time. So an iOS app is also tested for a number of devices, but it does not happen when developers build the same app for iOS powered devices. As there are limited devices and a single source of manufacturing these devices, issues like fragmentation are just not found in the iOS ecosystem.

The Android market is fragmented by hardware, software, and pricing, and thus it is difficult for Android developers to build an app that runs on all Android devices. But iPhone or iPad developers never worry about these issues as Apple itself manufactures all its devices.

A report from Nanigans has proved that Android apps earn less than iOS. The report shows that Facebook ads on iOS have made 6.1 times more money than Facebook ads on Android. The cost-per-click rates of Android were spotted at about half of the iOS rates.

The data given in this article prove that in spite of the fact that Android is today’s leading mobile OS with a huge and unbeatable market share, iOS has always winning from it when it comes to make money. Mobile developers making apps for the iOS platform naturally make more money because devices running on it are generally owned by those users who are actually driving the online market.